This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Credit and Social Relations Amongst Artisans and Tradesmen in Edinburgh and Philadelphia, c. 1710-1770 K. Tawny Wadsworth Paul Doctor of Philosophy School of History, Classics and Archaeology The University of Edinburgh 2011 Abstract Credit was a central feature of the early-modern British economy. Due to shortages of specie, men and women of all social ranks participated in the urban, consumer marketplace by using credit. Historical research has convincingly shown that credit was socially mediated and constructed, and as such it sheds light not only on economic development, but also on contemporary culture. Several recent studies address these issues, but two gaps in the historiography deserve further consideration. The literature pertaining to personal credit and social relations has focused almost solely upon England, neglecting a wider British and comparative Atlantic context. Furthermore, the decades spanning the middle of the eighteenth century have not been subjected to dedicated treatment, though this period has often been considered an era when institutional development caused profound changes in the nature of interpersonal credit. This thesis examines credit and social relations in the British Atlantic between 1710 and 1770, comparing case studies drawn from two provincial, urban contexts: Edinburgh and Philadelphia. Particular attention has been given to artisans and tradesmen who have hitherto been less well served by the Atlantic historiography. Drawing on legal, institutional and personal records, the thesis begins by addressing economic structures of petty credit, before progressing to consider social constructions of credit and reputation and their change over time. The study concludes that while structures of credit changed, credibility continued to be built upon interpersonal trust, personal reputation, social capital and gender identity. Furthermore, this ‘culture of credit’ transcended national boundaries. Similarities of practice within two very different legal and institutional systems call into question the perceived influence of these structures upon the behaviour of the lower-middling sort. i Table of Contents Acknowledgements page v List of figures and images vi Abbreviations ix 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Historiography 3 1.2 Methodology 18 1.3 Chapter Structure 31 2. Credit Networks and Trust in Edinburgh 39 2.1 Legal jurisdictions 43 2.2 Litigants and Patterns of Litigation 50 2.3 The structure of credit networks 55 2.4 Judging credit: the components of trust 66 2.5 Conclusion 74 3. Credit Networks and Trust in Philadelphia 77 3.1 Patterns of credit 84 3.2 Networks of trust 104 3.3 Conclusion 114 4. Credit and the Instruments of Trade 117 1.1 Instruments of trade 120 1.2 The social meanings of money 125 1.3 Conclusion 142 5. Masculinity, Reputation and Credit 145 5.1 Legal jurisdictions 152 5.2 The language of insult and the components of credit 154 5.3 Honour and public behaviour 166 5.4 The changing settings of public insult 170 5.5 Conclusion 173 6. Economic Failure and Social Reputation: Imprisonment and Refuge in Edinburgh 177 6.1 Imprisonment and the shame of insolvency 181 6.2 Refuge and the honest debtor 196 6.3 Conclusion 209 7. Credit and Social Capital in Colonial Society: A Case Study of the St Andrews Society of Philadelphia 213 7.1 Poor Scots and charitable relief 218 7.2 Commercial Scots and social networks 229 7.3 Credibility and Scottish ethnicity 240 7.4 Conclusion 244 iii 8. Conclusion 247 Bibliography 257 iv Acknowledgements In undertaking this degree, I have relied upon the support of many people. First and foremost, I would like to thank my academic supervisors, Dr Adam Fox and Dr Stana Nenadic. Without their guidance, encouragement and patience, this thesis would not have developed into what it is now, and I owe them my deepest thanks. Their involvement in this project made it a pleasure to undertake, and an invaluable source of academic training. While undertaking the research for this thesis, I also drew on the expertise of many people in the School of History at the University of Edinburgh. I would like to thank Prof Richard Rodger for helping me build my database, and for providing guidance in quantitative methods. Adam Budd was a constant source of encouragement and provided useful professional training. Louise Jackson and Martin Chick both contributed ideas and insights. While I was in residence in Philadelphia, Prof Cathy Matson provided very useful guidance, and Dr Simon Newman offered insights into the Philadelphia source material. I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by a creative and supportive group of colleagues at the University of Edinburgh. Conversations had in the office and in the pubs around Edinburgh helped shape my work, and my colleagues and friends provided a constant source of moral support. Many thanks especially to Dr Andrew Wells and Harriet Cornell for reading draft chapters and helping with the final editing process. I would also like to thank my friends outside of the history department, both here in Edinburgh and at home in the United States, for being so positive about this academic endeavour. I would like to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the American Friends of the University of Edinburgh for their generous financial support of my PhD, and the Program in Early American Economy and Society and the Economic History Society for funding my research trip to Philadelphia. No history project would be possible without a good set of sources, and I owe many thanks to the archivists who helped me locate the documents that formed the backbone of this thesis. In particular I would like to thank the staff at the Edinburgh City archives, the National Archives of Scotland, the American Philosophical Society, the St Andrews Society of Philadelphia, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. About ten years ago, I took my first history course at Vassar College. I would like to thank the instructors that I had there, particularly Prof Jim Merrell, Prof Miriam Cohen and Prof Lydia Murdoch, for providing me with excellent foundations and for helping me find my passion for history. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Teri and John, who have provided love, encouragement and unconditional support from thousands of miles away. This thesis is dedicated to them. v List of Figures and Images Page 1.1 Plan of Philadelphia, 1762, by Nicholas Scull 23 1.2 Plan of the City and Castle of Edinburgh, 1742, by William Edgar 24 2.1 Total numbers of debt cases appearing before the Edinburgh bailie 43 court, 1720- 1770 2.2 Expenses of process, Edinburgh bailie court 48 2.3 Cases progressing beyond the initial stages of protest in Edinburgh 49 bailie court 2.4 Comparison of litigation decline before Edinburgh civil courts 50 2.5 Occupations of bailie court litigants, sample years combined 52 2.6 Gender composition of litigants 52 2.7 Pursuers appearing in court multiple times 54 2.8 Types of debt appearing in bailie court processes 54 2.9 Agreed credit time specified in bailie court cases 57 2.10 Length of credit relationships, determined by time elapsed between date 57 of credit transaction and initiation of a suit 2.11 Value of debts pursued in bailie court and their change over time 58 2.12 Debts pursued in bailie court as a portion of the original debts contracted 59 2.13 Nature and frequency of secondary debts pursued in bailie court, 1730- 62 1770 2.14 Comparison of credit time for direct and secondary debts, calculated by 63 time elapsed between date of first transaction and initiation of court case 2.15 Relationship of pursuer occupation to debts pursued in bailie court 64 2.16 Defenders appearing in court multiple times 70 3.1 Average duration of credit relationships described in tradesmen account 85 books vi 3.2 Average total debts accumulated by customers in tradesmen account 86 books 3.3 Occupations of tradesmen’s customers 87 3.4 Tax assessments of customers in the account books of Graisbury, 88 Paschall and Burd 3.5 Duration of credit relationships in tradesmen accounts, from date of first 88 item of credit extended to date of final payment 3.6 Total debts accumulated by customers in tradesmen accounts, 89 represented in clusters 3.7 Average credit granted by Paschall to customers over time, as presented 92 in his account book, 1736-1770 3.8 Diversity of trade amongst artisans as calculated by percentage of 92 account book transactions in which products appear 3.9 Frequency of balanced and unbalanced accounts noted in tradesmen 95 account books 3.10 Degrees of credit represented in account books 100 3.11 Relationships between individuals in